CNN picks out beach volleyball's Larissa/Talita as stars to watch in Rio

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Beach volleyball01/08/2016

CNN picks out beach volleyball's Larissa/Talita as stars to watch in Rio

Larissa and Talita, who qualified for Rio as the host country pick, finished top of the Olympic rankings during the qualification process, which finished on June 12

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 1, 2016 – “The Rio Games are here and the next chapter in Olympic history is about to be written,” stated CNN on Monday as they highlighted 20 competitors who could change their sport in Rio.

Among the 20 stars CNN picked out – out of a total of more than 10,000 athletes – were Brazil's beach volleyball duo Larissa Franca, and Talita Antunes who they described as the “big favorites to win gold in their home Games.”

CNN pointed out that “the duo are seeded No.1 in the draw and were winners of the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.”

While Larissa and Talita are listed as the top team in the FIVB’s Olympic Rankings, they were placed second behind Germany’s Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst in the 2015/2016 season rankings.

As a nation, Brazil are ranked No. 1 in beach volleyball ahead of Germany and the United States.

Larissa/Talita start their Olympic campaign on Sunday against the Russian duo of Evgenia Ukolova and Ekaterina Birlova, who were ranked 23rd on the World Tour.